NJ Supreme Court rules in favor of the widow of an Ocean County Jail suicide victim

The New Jersey Supreme Court has sided with the widow of a man who hanged himself in Ocean County Jail in 2010, saying there was enough evidence to support a jury's determination that the jail and Correctional Health Services were negligent despite a law that generally grants immunity to health and public facilities.

The high court refused to overturn the Ocean County jury's verdict that an appellate court upheld. The jury awarded plaintiff Carol Ann Conforti $150,000 in damages and $1.4 million for pain and suffering.

In 2010, Conforti obtained a restraining order against her husband Kenneth Conforti, which he violated, returning to their home to see his 9-year-old son, who has Down syndrome, is deaf and nonverbal, according to the opinion.

He was arrested and held at Ocean County Jail for 27 days. During his intake, he told health services staff that he drank a half gallon of vodka each day, had screws and rods in his back from surgery, felt hopeless and helpless and was troubled over the loss of his marriage.

Kenneth Conforti was totally disabled after he injured his back at work then medicated himself using alcohol after surgery failed and left him in chronic pain, according to the opinion

A week after his release, he was arrested again when he returned to the home.

During intake, Conforti contradicted his earlier statement, saying he did not have surgery, was only a social drinker, didn’t feel helpless and had no recent significant loss, according to the ruling.

A document showed that intake staff acknowledged his earlier complaints but deemed that he had no current health issues or concerns, according to the ruling.

On October 20, 2010, a week after his return to jail, Conforti wrote a suicide note to his parents. He closed the door to his cell, put a sheet over the cell door window, tied sheets together and hanged himself from a light fixture over the toilet.

When a cell is shut it locks and a light goes off alerting staff in a security center to a possible issue.

The OCJ Suicide Prevention Policy states that officers “should make unsystematic patrols of the housing area” to “hinder the inmate’s efforts” of timing the patrols and to “increase the possibility of successful intervention,” according to the ruling.

But the logbook showed that Conforti’s cell was checked systematically, nearly on the hour, through the morning, including at 12:03 p.m. Any change to an entry required a set of initials and a reason. The time check that followed at 12.55 p.m. notes a “possible suicide” and was written over the 12:03 p.m. check entry, according to the opinion.

There were no initials or reasons given for the “obliterated” 12:03 p.m. check entry, according to the ruling.

An expert for the plaintiff testified at trial that the jail failed to follow its own suicide prevention policy, to recognize the risk of a sheet covering the window of a locked cell door and to identify Conforti as a suicide risk among other lapses. The jail staff also engaged in “predictable and easily timed and anticipated” block patrols, the expert testified.

The jail and Correctional Health Services argued that they were immune from liability under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act.

In its decision, the high court ruled that the evidence presented at trial fell outside of any immunities granted by the Act.

Joseph M. Valanti, current warden of the jail, was not in the office and not available for comment Thursday.

More: 'A devastating public health crisis': What parents can do to help prevent teen suicide

Attorney Donald F. Burke, who represented Carol Conforti, along with his son, Donald Burke Jr., grew emotional when talking about the case and what he called the “overwhelming negligence” behind Kenneth Conforti’s death.

“It was a long, long uphill road,” said Burke. “Today belongs to Ken Conforti’s disabled son who was 9 years old when his father died in 2010 and grew up without a father. He had a bond with his father and it was this very strong bond that got Ken Conforti into trouble.”

Burke is calling for the Legislature to take a fresh and harder look at the Tort Claims Act.

“With tort claim immunities, governmental actors can show a lack of concern for the consequences of their wrongdoing and I think government accountability requires more,” Burke said. “Tort claim immunities often dissuade lawyers and advocates from taking on cases of government abuse and I’m hoping this lets people know that it’s worth taking these cases and helping the people who need our help the most.”

Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ Supreme Court rules in favor of widow in Ocean County Jail suicide